Alpine 3500RL

[klr650goldwing]

Today we went to the RV show in Minneapolis and sort of fell in love with this trailer. But being of a prudent and cautious nature we'd like to hear from some people who already have this trailer. Please let us know the good and bad of your personal experiences.

This trailer is 3000 lbs. more than the one we now have. Is this trailer too heavy for SRW trucks? Thank you.

[klr650goldwing]

Well, thank you for those very thoughtful replies. Quite sobering facts for us, but we are grateful for your experiences and wisdom.

[topjimmy]

I am going to tell ya from Experience having a 2001 f350 V10 while a great Motor and loved it it Barely had enough power to tow my old 2004 34ft Montana and when I bought a 2012 39 foot Monty and tried to tow it up it's first Mountain pass(only 2600 ft) It was SCREAMING for mercy at 5K rpm and going 40MPH and sounded like it was going to Blow up all while only getting about 8 MPG the next week I went out and bought a Diesel Dually and never looked back now I have a 2015 Montana that is even heavier and the same weight as the Alpine 3500RL you are looking at and Your 2004 f350 SRW with a V10 is Under powered and will be Over weight NOT the right tool for the Job Trust me....Or Not and get passed up by old Yugos up the hills:B and by the way my Buddy has a 2014 Alpine and Loves it and has been pretty reliable and if ya did not know Montana and Alpine are built in the same Keystone Factory in Goshen Indiana and the difference between the two is not that much same workers,pretty much same construction and options and standard equipment, price etc..

[spud1957]

Me Again wrote:
Dry pin weight is 2650 and GVWR is 15,500. Loaded you will have to watch rating of rear tires very carefully. Not sure you will like performance of a V-10 with that kind of weight.

What is the rear axle weight rating on your truck. You will be looking at around 3100 pounds of pin weight, a couple hundred for 5th wheel hitch and more for stuff in the bed. If you have a 6000-6200 RGAWR you will most likely exceed it.

We have a truck with a 7K RGAWR and have a similar size trailer that started with 200 pounds less dry pin weight and we are pushing close to 7K on the rear axle.

I see a new truck in your future if you want this trailer.

Chris

'04 F350 has a rear axle rating of 6850. Payload ~3000lbs.

[MFL]

Op only got one response on an Alpine FW, but sounded positive.

It appears in OPs sig, that he may have switched gears in his 04 350. One line says 3.73, and another 4.56. With the 4.56/V-10, he should be able to pull the 15K fully loaded trailer. I also think the RAWR of this vintage was 6,8XX, so should be able to carry the weight. Tires should match the RAWR, likely slightly more.

I do agree with Chris, as to a new truck in future, if buying this trailer.
Any of the newer 35 series diesels would work much better for extended trips.

Jerry

[Me_Again]

Dry pin weight is 2650 and GVWR is 15,500. Loaded you will have to watch rating of rear tires very carefully. Not sure you will like performance of a V-10 with that kind of weight.

What is the rear axle weight rating on your truck. You will be looking at around 3100 pounds of pin weight, a couple hundred for 5th wheel hitch and more for stuff in the bed. If you have a 6000-6200 RGAWR you will most likely exceed it.

We have a truck with a 7K RGAWR and have a similar size trailer that started with 200 pounds less dry pin weight and we are pushing close to 7K on the rear axle.

I see a new truck in your future if you want this trailer.

Chris

[klr650goldwing]

Thank you guys. I appreciate your comments. Sounds like our truck will do just fine.

Are these pretty rare trailers? There hasn't been much of a response to my request, so I'm thinking that not many people own one of these. That surprises me because it sure looks like a nice rig.

[cmeade]

We have a 2014 Alpine 3500 RE and tow with a 2010 Ram 3500 megacab. Have had no problems with ours in over 10k miles. Been thru rain, fog and wind so far. Our pin is about 2.6 k lbs. Rear air bags and Bilstein 4600 shocks really improved handling and ride. We really love our Alpine so far and twin 15 k a/c keeps it cool in 100+ temps.

[donn0128]

Too heavy? Only you have that answer. According to what your saying that is going to add 300 pounds to your pin weight.